Seeing the Light: Max's Story
by diasma
Summary: An alternate ending to the episode 'Harbour Lights' (MA undertones)


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Seeing the Light – Max's Story

Disclaimer: The characters and events portrayed in this piece fan fiction are done so with the intention of entertaining fans of Dark Angel. The characters and other instances (except for those I have made up) are borrowed from 20th Century Fox and Cameron/Eglee Productions.

Chapter One

On yet another cool and drizzly Seattle morning I found myself in line with a dozen or so others in order to get some gas for my ninja. I hardly notice the rain at all though. Rain, hail and shine, it's all the same to me right now.

As if my life wasn't complicated enough already, then along comes this stupid virus. Before the temporary cure, I always thought we'd figure out how to beat its sorry ass. It was just a matter of when. But now I'm not so sure.

I'm not even sure if that's the reason I'm feeling so down right now. For some reason my mind keeps wandering back to the conversation I had with Alec the other night. He seemed amazed that Logan and I had never been together before. I reasoned that it had never been the right time with us.

But why? It seems ridiculous now even to me. There have been plenty of opportunities for Logan and I to get closer, if we really wanted to…If I really wanted to…. So what's the problem? Is it really because Logan, as Alec would phrase it, fails to 'rock my world'?

"Truck's tapped, people. Everybody go home."

My personal psychoanalysis session came to an end as the sector cop guarding the gasoline truck informed us we had missed out on filling up our containers with gas.

I groan, along with everybody else. So much for getting out of town for the day and clearing my head. I guess I'll have to settle for a long, hot bubble bath instead. Beats listening to Normal's crap all day anyway.

The sound of bullets ricocheting and people screaming brought me out of my self-indulgent thoughts. A man with a gun, angry at missing out on his gas was struggling for control with the sector cop.

"Joey! Joey no! My little boy! Somebody help me! Joey Joey!"

I glance up and see a little boy standing alone in the center of the road as everyone around him scatters from the scene. Without hesitation I race toward him.

I probably should have seen it coming, the bullet that lodged itself inside my abdomen. Right away a burning feeling spread from by stomach like a hot coal was stuck inside. Man, it hurt.

I knew I was whimpering. I heard, or thought I heard screaming and sirens wailing. But I was powerless to do anything, so I just lay there as blood, my blood, pooled around me. Gradually though the screams and the pain faded away as I drifted into unconsciousness...

Chapter Two

The next thing I knew I was being lifted onto a bed. My initial thoughts were of confusion, voices surrounded me and the lights from above were blinding.

I cried out and groaned with the pain.

"Where am I?"

"Harbor Lights Medical. You've had an accident, but we're going to take care of you now." A nurse informed me in a calm and soothing voice.

Another nurse adjusted the oxygen tube attached to me. I reacted with instinct, ripping it off.

"I can't stay."

The pain was driving me mad. I was feeling funny all over now. Shock I guess. I tried to sit up, but was pushed gently back down by the nurse who seemed hell-bent on convincing me I was in good hands. Perhaps I was, but over 10 years of being chased by Lydecker had taught me otherwise and I couldn't take the chance.

"Hang three units O-neg. Get her typed and cross-matched."

The Doctor's words flooded my senses with alarm. "No tests."

"You'll be ok." This failed to reassure me.

"No tests!" The pain combined with the fear of my identity being discovered was overwhelming. All I could think to do was grab the doctor's arm in an attempt to prevent her from taking the blood tests. It was all a bit of a blur to be honest.

"A little help, here?" People flooded from everywhere to pry my hand off the doctor's arm.

In my weakened state I couldn't fight the medical staff off and the doctor was able to inject me with a sedative.

Chapter Three

When I first came to I felt unbelievably drowsy and slightly disoriented. The bed I was laying in was comfy but the white ceiling above was unfamiliar. In short, I had no idea where I was and what I was doing there.

I attempted to sit up and take in my surroundings but a sharp pain in my mid-section caused me to wince, and groan as I noticed my bandaged abdomen. Recollections of the events leading up to being wounded and rushed to casualty immediately surfaced to my conscious mind and I slumped back down to the bed. I couldn't help but feel annoyed at myself for allowing this all to happen. Not only was it inconvenient and more than a little uncomfortable but it was also a precarious position to be in for a transgenic, and even more so for a transgenic being hunted by a crazed cult member under the guise of a secret government agent.

At first I didn't realise that they had me under guard but I shouldn't have been surprised. I had several tubes attached to my body; one was providing me with a blood transfusion. So in all likelihood a sample of my own blood would be in a laboratory awaiting analysis or most probably bewildering some unsuspecting pathologist eager to share his alarming discovery.

Anyway by the time I worked out that they had in fact discovered my unusual DNA, I was starting to regain a little of my strength and my head was beginning to shake off the sedatives and clear.

The intrinsic Manticore mind of mine began formulating possible escape routes. For the moment, none of them was actually a feasible option. Not unless I wanted to get my ass shot up some more or draw even more attention to myself.

I still felt pretty weak and probably didn't even have the strength to take out an ordinary human. The best plan of attack I guess was to wait until my advanced healing kicked in. I could thank Manticore for something at least.

I became an expert at faking sleep, using the skill to avoid answering any questions, and to prevent the nurses from administering any more sedatives or painkillers. I wanted to be as alert as possible.

I kept this up for a couple of hours. On one occasion I 'awoke' when one of the guards came to check on me. Call me curious but I wanted to know who I was up against, White or some other equally annoying yet less threatening government department. For once someone from above was looking down kindly on me and it was the latter, or the lesser of the two evils.

He got in a few questions, but didn't get many answers in response. I just made out like I was too sick, which didn't take a lot of acting considering how I took a bullet in the gut a few hours beforehand.

The man, dressed in some expensive suit, seemed to buy the act though and I felt a little more optimistic about getting the hell out of the place.

I had by now decided escaping through the window was the way to go. I'd wait until the guards changed over and make my move while they were least prepared. It wasn't going to be an all guns blazing escape like you'd see in those old action adventure movies, but it wasn't without it's risks either.

Judging by the height of the trees I glimpsed through the window, I concluded that I was on the second or third floor of the building. I was hoping a fire escape or drainpipe would be attached to the outside and I could catch a free ride down to the ground. If not, I was pretty confident I could leap and land safely and reassess the situation from there.

Now all I had to do was wait for the opportune time….

Chapter Four

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A few hours later - changeover time for the guards.

Although I'm supposed to be a super-soldier and all that, sometimes my human instincts overcome me and this time a little bit of fear had crept into my psyche.

It had been ingrained into us at Manticore that each of us was dispensable, but I had lived the last half of my life on the outside and had come to respect and value my life. Therefore, jumping out the window of a second-floor hospital room, while nursing a recent stomach wound, still seemed a little daunting to me.

But it was a better option than the alternative – to stay and be sent off for examination; or worse, be taken off by White! I would rather risk the possibility of landing awkwardly and dying from the fall than that!

Luckily for me, another Manticore skill is the ability to suppress fear, an ability that I still possessed. Without further thought (and I'd been having a lot of those!), I positioned myself on the windows ledge. If I had hesitated and glanced behind me I would have seen the guard raise his weapon to fire at me, and most likely would have been hit.

My superior acrobatical skills and feline grace enabled me to swiftly descend and land crouching on the pavement below, unmarred from the gunfire erupting from above me.

I had underestimated the alertness of the guards; they had reacted more efficiently to my escape that I had envisaged. I wasn't going to make that mistake again, and exited as fast as I could from the scene not knowing who and how many people would be in pursuit.

Chapter Five

Twenty minutes later I was pretty sure I had lost them, but I knew it wouldn't be long before word got out that a girl in a hospital gown was on the loose and I was bound to be discovered sooner or later.

I was running out of places to run in this sector, and without my jam pony sector pass I'd have to be a little more creative than usual in getting through.

First of all though I had to get out of the hospital gown. Not only was it extremely unflattering but I was also drawing a lot of attention from people on the street. I can't blame them, I'd stare too if I saw someone walking around in a blood-soaked gown. I couldn't exactly buy anything without money and begging's not exactly my style. Stealing was another option I could cross off the list – another sure way to attract attention,even though my expertise in this area is second to none (well maybe second to Alec on the odd occasion!). I decided the slight chance of being caught wasn't worth the risk at this stage.

Turning a corner I came into a residential street. I could see a clothesline in a back yard, full of women's clothing. As inconspicuously as I could, I grabbed a shirt and pants and high-tailed out of the premise vowing to return the items as soon as I could. I knew I wouldn't, but hey, it made me feel better.

Two blocks from the clothesline place I hid in an abandoned house, it reminded me a little of Joshua's, as much for its accumulation of dust as its charm, and I quickly made myself at home.

I was feeling tired and needed to rest, the adrenalin rush generated from the escape was wearing out and I was beginning to ache. Figuring I'd have a much better chance of getting around undetected in the dark, I made the decision of waiting until night to make my way home.

Chapter Six

A few hours later I was making my move jumping from rooftop to rooftop with an ease that any Olympic long-jumper would be in awe of.

As crook as I felt, I could still appreciate the beauty of the city at night. While not as spectacular as the view from the space needle, the top of the multiple-story building I was on still provided quite a site. I couldn't get over how peaceful it seemed at night. I often climbed to the top of the space needle at night; sometimes entertaining or comforting myself by picking a light out in the distance and imagining what the lives were like for the people that lived there. Depending on my mood, sometimes it was a happy family; a mother, father, 3 kids and a dog named Bouncer. Other times it was a lonely young girl crying in the corner of her bedroom as her intoxicated father watched telly in the room next door.

Before I found Zack and some of my other siblings I used to sit up on the needle and pretend that each of them were out there. I'd create all kinds of wonderful lives for them, but I knew deep down that they'd be just like me, always on the run looking over their shoulders. Alone. Well that was what I had thought.

Were they really alone? Tinga had made a life for herself, Syl and Krit had seemed happy enough when I had last seen them. Was I really alone? If I really thought about it, I wasn't any worse off that most of the ordinary people across the country. I had friends, a lot of good friends in Sketchy, Kendra, Herbal, and of course Logan and Original Cindy. OC was almost like a sister to me, and how could I forget my Manticore siblings and Alec.

Alec. There was a time when I could describe exactly what he was to me. A royal pain in the ass! Now I wasn't so sure of that. He's stuck around, helped out whenever asked, and is always good for a round of pool at the Crash. To an outsider I guess we'd appear to be friends, maybe even more, but buddies at the very least. And to be honest I would miss him greatly if he wasn't around.

Not that I have ever let him know I feel that way. He would probably laugh, think I am up to something devious. And who could blame him? I treat him like shit, but I can't help it. For some reason it comes naturally.

I don't know, maybe this stuff is obvious to everyone else, but I had always had difficulty in understanding my feelings. Emotions were not exactly high on the curriculum agenda in Manticore. It wasn't as if we didn't feel emotions, but we weren't encouraged to express or interpret them. Showing your emotions was a sign of weakness and weakness wasn't condoned at Manticore.

Maybe our Manticore link is the reason I've shut him out, given he has the ability to see through my bitch facade. Similarly he uses his comical front as a defence. Logically though, it should be the link that brings us closer together, having someone around who understands where you are from.

In the past I've seen him as a reminder though of the life I'd rather forget. How selfish is that? I'd never treat Zach, Jondy or the others like I do Alec. I'm pretty ashamed of myself for that but I'm so used to being bitchy to him it's become a habit. A habit I intend to change, I thought as I now found myself in familiar territory not so far from Alec's place.

I spotted his apartment building across the street. Part of me longed to go in and see him, but a larger part of me was apprehensive about doing that. Not sure if I could trust myself not to spill all my feelings the way I was right now, and I don't want to make a fool of myself. I have to face the guy every day at work after all. Besides what would he think, me showing up in the middle of the night in a baggy pink shirt? Pink? How could I have not noticed? Ohmygod, what was I thinking choosing this shirt.

There was no way I was showing up at Alec's place in a pink t-shirt, not even if I had been shot or something. Wait a second, I have been shot at. How about I amend that to never ever showing up at Alec's place in any item of pink clothing, full stop!

Pink shirts aside, I am going to make an effort to be nicer to Alec from now on. Maybe not all the time, someone has to keep him in line afterall, but gradually over time until I come to realise the extent of my feelings and gauge how he feels.

Right now I had to get myself over to Foggle Towers (strange how I'm not worried about Logan seeing me in a pink shirt). I was in need of some rest and first-aid, and hopefully with Logan's help could also remove any evidence of my unusual genetic makeup from hospital records and delete my image from their databases.

Who knows, maybe I'll start my new 'be nice to Alec policy' when I see him back at work. I can't go wrong with a "Hi Alec, how are you" And then I'd go from there. I wasn't going to use Manticore as an excuse anymore, sure I've had a rough start to life because of them, but it doesn't mean they have to govern my present or my future. I'm going to live it the way I want to.

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Thanks to **SmilinStar, Kyla**, **SGOUS, hallowness, acb,suenooneus**, and especially **OriginalProxy **for reviewing. Your input and encouragement was greatly appreciated! _Thanks to all the other authors out there who have kept me entertained and inspired me to give fanfic a shot myself!_


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